Dreams of You
by R.A.Ripleys
Summary: Draco is not happy with his arranged marriage. Then he runs into the woman of his dreams as she is running away from the man of hers. Can he convince her that he's not the boy he used to be? Rated M for language and maybe more in later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: The Harry Potter Universe as well as its characters belong solely to J.K. Rowling. I am not making any money what so ever off of this story.**

 **A/N: I really hope y'all like this new story. I don't see it being a very long one so hopefully I can powerhouse the next few chapters out and finish it soon. I just got this idea in my head and started writing. I thought I lost my muse but I guess she was just steering me in another direction for the time being. Reviews are awesome so let me have it! Even if you hate it, let me know!**

* * *

 **Chapter 1**

Draco Malfoy was angry. He was forced to sit with his parents and the Greengrass family for tea, AGAIN, to finalize a marriage contract between him and Astoria. Draco liked her well enough, but he was certainly not in love with her. And he most definitely did NOT want to marry her.

Draco was pretty sure Astoria felt the same way, but they could not seem to get their parents to understand. Or even care. The only thing that mattered to them was being with someone from The Sacred Twenty-eight. And Merlin forbid if either one of them felt different.

Well, that was it, then, wasn't it? The contract was in place. He and Astoria would be getting married next summer and there was nothing either of them could do about it. He was surprised he was able to put it off this long but there was no more avoiding it. As soon as Draco signed the paper, he got up from the table and stormed inside the Manor. Astoria followed him to make sure he was alright.

She found him standing just inside in the massive hallway that ran between the giant arched front door and the back entrance to the garden patio. "Draco, darling, are you alright?"

"I'm fine, Astoria. I promise," he said to her. He turned away from her and looked out the window to the patio where their parents still sat, talking. "I just don't understand how, after everything that happened with the war, they can still hold these values."

Astoria linked her arm in Draco's. "You're my best friend, Draco. I'm honestly just glad that Daddy picked you and not Marcus. I don't know what I would do if I were to have to be with him."

"You wouldn't have a thing to worry about. Flint is scared to death of me. He knows if he hurts another of my friends like he hurt Daph then I would kill him."

"We will make this work. I'm sure of it," She said. She stood on her toes to give him a peck on the cheek before releasing his arm and making her way back outside with their parents.

Draco made his way up to his bedroom to lie down. His head was swimming. They had to find a way out of this. There was just no way his parents could make him marry someone whom he viewed like his sister. He dozed off into an uneasy sleep.

 _Draco was in a kitchen. His kitchen. Not the one at the Manor but the one he shared with his wife. He had just put the lasagna in the oven and had walked over to the sink to start washing the dishes he used while cooking. A small, slender hand appeared, rubbing tenderly up and down his arm._

 _He turned around and folded his arms around her waist and smiled. "Good evening, Mrs. Malfoy. You got home just in the nick of time. Dinner will be ready soon."_

" _Good. I'm famished," she stated, reaching up to place a kiss directly on his lips._

 _He wrapped his arms around her and picked her up around the waist like it was nothing. He planted her firmly on the kitchen island behind where she was standing, not dropping the kiss. He whimpered slightly as she pulled away from him, her face flushed._

" _Feeling a bit frisky this evening, aren't you Draco?" she asked, her lips turning up into that crooked grin he had come to love._

" _Whatever do you mean, love?" They both laughed as he grabbed her off the kitchen counter and set her down on the floor. He grabbed her hand and led her through the door..._

Draco was awakened suddenly by Astoria, who was shaking him slightly to get his attention. "We're leaving for the afternoon. Shall we meet for dinner tomorrow? Your mother says we should begin with planning the wedding as soon as possible to make sure all the right vendors are available," she said softly. She was obviously still just as upset as he was.

He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes as he tried to focus on her, still a bit fuzzy from his dream. It had been a good dream too. "Alright," he said. "I'll come by at six to pick you up."

Astoria smiled sweetly at him. A small smile, not one that quite met her eyes but beautiful none the less. "We will figure this out. I know we will," she promised him.

Draco couldn't take the tension anymore. He decided he needed to get out of the house. Maybe he would get a new broomstick. "I'll walk you out, I think I'm going to clear my head a bit anyway," he said as he stood up from the bed and offered her his arm. She took it and they arrived together at the bottom of the stairs where Astoria's parents were waiting for her.

He leaned down slightly and pressed a chaste kiss on her cheek. She released the grip she had on his arm and walked behind her parents towards the floo in the dining room. He waited a few moments until he heard the roar of the hearth that told him they had departed.

After a few more moments, Draco finally felt certain that his parents would have left the dining room for either their chambers or his father's office for a drink. He made his way towards the fireplace and he threw in some floo powder, saying, "Diagon Alley" as the green flames roared to life and swept him away from everything that was troubling him.

* * *

He walked along the cobblestone road on his way to Quality Quidditch Supplies after leaving Gringotts. He was perfectly content strolling along, window shopping in the various stores between here and there. Until he almost got plowed over by a frizzy haired woman, obviously upset, obviously not paying attention to where she was going.

"Sorry," she said as she stumbled. She glanced up and froze when she saw who it was she had knocked into.

He couldn't believe it. His heart started racing. "It's quite alright," he said. "No harm done."

"I should have been looking where I was going. I'm sorry I bumped into you." She was still obviously upset. She was wiping tears away repeatedly.

"Hermione, I promise it's alright. I'm not hurt. What's the matter?" He said, genuinely concerned.

Hermione stared at him in shock. Was he actually talking to her? On purpose? "I'm fine. I'll just be on my way. I can tell you're busy." She started to walk away when Draco lightly touched her arm.

"You don't have to run away from me. I know I'm a snake but I won't bite." He tried hard to hide the fact that his heart was racing. He couldn't believe that he had just run into Hermione Granger! She had been in his dreams just an hour before and here she was, standing before him.

He could tell she was extremely reserved when she answered him. "It's nothing that you would be interested in, I guarantee you. I'm not running away from you, I'm just having a worse day than most and I can tell you're busy so I don't want to be a bother."

To him, she seemed that she was slightly coming around to talking so that was good. Maybe she didn't hate him after all like he thought. "You're not bothering me, Hermione. I'm the one who asked you what was wrong, remember?" She tried to hide a small giggle but he caught it anyway. "Why don't we stop on over at the Leaky Cauldron and grab a coffee? You can tell me what's going on and maybe I can help."

Hermione looked at him. She took in everything. From the bit of stubble on his chin from not shaving this morning, to the fact that he had started letting his hair be its natural color and not the bleach blonde color she hated, to the color of his silver gray eyes as they stared right into her own.

After a few moments of silence, Draco started to get nervous. Was he actually worried that Hermione would turn him down? He hadn't meant to care so much. He had just been extremely surprised to have bumped into her. "Alright, we can do that. It might do me some good to talk to someone outside of the situation anyway," she justified her reasoning, although Draco didn't think she really needed to.

They walked in awkward silence all the way to the Leaky Cauldron, passing several people giving them awkward stares, seeming to know that the two were an odd pair. Draco only hoped that he didn't see anyone he knew because he didn't fancy answering a bunch of questions when it was absolutely no one's business but their own.

When they entered the bar, they quickly found a booth off to the side, towards the back, where they were unlikely to be noticed by anyone coming and going from the door. As Hermione took her seat, Draco asked her, "What would you like to drink?"

Hermione looked up at him with the same shocked look on her face that she had earlier. "You don't have to buy my drinks, Malfoy. I do happen to be able to afford my own." Seeing the stunned look on his face, she quickly added, "I'm sorry. That was terribly rude of me. I don't know what's gotten into me today. I'll have a cup of tea. Thank you."

He wasn't expecting any apology from her, none was necessary. He definitely deserved the rudeness and probably much worse for the way he had treated her all thought school. He honestly couldn't believe she had actually agreed to sit down with him and talk for a bit. Granted she'd looked extremely upset and like she needed someone to talk to. But he didn't think she would take him up on his offer. He was Draco Malfoy after all. And the one place that his name didn't get him anywhere was with Hermione Granger.

"You got it." He told her, turning away from the table and heading over to the bar. Hermione thought she saw him wink at her before he walked away. She had to have been imagining it, right? It had to be her head playing tricks on her. She guessed she was more upset than she thought.

Draco practically glided back over to their table, not spilling even a drop of the two cups of tea he carried. All those years in ballroom dance classes when he was younger taught him a thing or two about walking gracefully. He placed her tea in front of her and slid into the seat opposite her.

They both fixed their tea, surprisingly to both of them, with two lumps of sugar and one spoonful of cream each. Draco decided to break the silence and asked, "So are you going to tell me what's going on? What is it that has Hermione Granger running through the streets of Diagon Alley so upset that she can't see past the tears?"

Hermione looked up from her mug. "It almost seems silly now. I don't really even know why I was so upset. I mean, I knew it was coming. I guess I just didn't think it would happen now. I thought I would have a bit more time to prepare myself."

"Prepare yourself for what? From what I remember, you are always prepared for everything. Even things that other people don't think of." Draco had a hard time hiding the inquisitive look he was sure she could spot from a mile away.

Hermione couldn't help but feel exposed. Was she really about to divulge relationship nonsense with Draco Malfoy? And did he really care? It seemed to her that he was being genuine. "I just caught Ron with Lavender. I had asked George if I could borrow one of his books on owning a business because I've been thinking about opening up a small bookshop in Hogsmeade. He sent me over to the joke shop to grab it from his office and Ron and Lavender were hiding out in there, doing things that I really wish I hadn't seen. I had just left the shop when I ran into you."

Draco was dumbfounded. He knew he didn't really like Weasley much to begin with, but now he had a real reason to be furious with the redhead. He couldn't stop himself from clenching his fists until his knuckles turned white.

That is, until he noticed the almost scared look in the eyes of the Gryffindor sitting across from him. He forced himself to relax a little, unsure why he was so angry with the cod. "I can't believe that anyone would have the nerve to do such a thing to you," he said after a few moments.

"I thought he loved me. I thought he was going to propose to me. I found a ring in his pocket while I was doing laundry a few weeks ago and I was so excited. Now I feel like the most pathetic excuse of a witch there ever was," she confessed to him, almost able to stop a single tear from escaping her eye and rolling down her cheek.

He didn't know why he did it, but Draco suddenly found his hand across the table, his thumb caressing her cheek and wiping away the tear. "You are not pathetic, Hermione. If anything, he's the one who is pathetic. He doesn't deserve you." He blushed then, bewildered that those words had just left his lips, and pulled her hand back away from her. What had gotten into him?

Hermione was blushing as much as he was, and was doing an awful job of hiding it from him. She hurriedly stood up, saying, "I'm sorry, I have to go." She then all but ran out of the door without explanation. Draco realized then that Hermione most definitely did _not_ hate him. He didn't know if she realized it yet, but he was sure he was going to find out.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

" _Feeling a bit frisky this evening, aren't you Draco?" she asked, her lips turning up into that crooked grin he had come to love._

" _Whatever do you mean, love?" They both laughed as he grabbed her off the kitchen counter and set her down on the floor. He grabbed her hand and led her through the door._

 _Up the stairs and down the hall, they all but ran into the bedroom they shared. The walls were a shade of gray that matched Draco's eyes perfectly. All the furniture was a deep mahogany. Deep red and green curtains covered the windows and the four poster bed that he was now pulling her down on._

 _Draco kissed her feverishly, snaking his lips from hers to her neck and over her shoulder. He knew just how to make her shiver. He leaned them up and began working her shirt up over her head without taking his eyes off of hers..._

Hermione awoke with a start. She was covered with sweat and her heart was pounding. She got up out of bed and made her way into the kitchen for a glass of water. _'What is going on? Since when do I dream about Draco Malfoy?'_ she thought, gulping down the ice cold liquid.

She walked over to the desk she had in the living room and grabbed a quill and some parchment.

 _Gin,_

 _I just had the most outrageous dream and I need to talk to you about it as soon as possible. Can I come over for lunch?_

 _Hermione_

She rolled up the letter and attached it to the leg of her eagle owl, Persephone. She gave the bird several treats to coax it out of the window. She then went to the couch and picked up her new potions book and began to read. There was absolutely no way she was going back to sleep tonight.

* * *

Early the next morning, Hermione was startled by the sound of a gentle pecking on her living room window. She wasn't expecting Persephone to be back so soon. Jumping up from the couch she all but ran over to the window. Opening it quickly, her owl floated past her to land on her perch next to Hermione's favorite chair.

Hermione closed the window and sat back down next to the bird, who was offering out her leg. She let out an excited squeal when she saw Ginny's gorgeous handwriting on the outside of the folded piece of parchment.

' _Mione_

 _We're not busy today. Well, I'm not, but Harry has some work things to do this afternoon. My team doesn't practice on Sundays unless we have a game the coming week. We would love to have you over for lunch! Stop by around noon! Can't wait to see you!_

 _Gin_

Hermione stood with a smile and made sure Persephone had enough water on her perch. "Might as well grab a shower," she said to herself, patting her owl on the head gently before heading to the bathroom.

A few minutes before noon, she made her way out of her flat and down the road toward the Leaky Cauldron. She lived in muggle London, just around the corner from the bar and inn. She sometimes used the floo there when she was unable to apparate to her destination.

She hurried over to the floo and dropped in a pinch of powder. Green flames engulfed her as she said "12 Grimmauld Place" and was whooshed away to see her best friends.

* * *

Hermione landed in her best friends' sitting room. She couldn't help but think about how much it had changed since she was on the run with Harry and Ron.

Thinking about Ron made her chest clench with heartache. She realize that she still hadn't told Ginny and Harry about what had happened in Diagon Alley yesterday either. This is going to be a very awkward conversation.

Ginny must have known she had arrived because she called from the kitchen, "We're in here 'Mione. Almost done making the salad so just take a seat at the table."

She walked slowly, almost dreading the coming talk she would have with her two best friends. "Hey guys," she said almost timidly when she finally reached the room where Harry and Ginny were moving plates to the table from the stone counter top over by the charmed refrigerator.

Ginny, not one to miss anything at all, noticed her forlorn expression. "What's wrong 'Mione? You didn't seem that upset in your letter. I actually thought you were quite excited about something."

"Well, even more than a dream has happened and I am honestly shocked and more confused about all of it than anything," she replied to the redhead who set a plate in front of her that contained a tuna fish sandwich and a side salad with homemade italian dressing (her favorite). She picked up her sandwich and took a small bite as she wasn't very hungry after the realization she made in the sitting room.

She looked up to say, "Thank you," and noticed both of her friends extremely worried faces staring at her as if she had had turned green over the last five minutes. "What? Do I have something on my face? Why are you looking at me like I grew three heads?"

Harry was first to speak up, asking, "Should I go into the other room so that you two can talk?" Hermione was thankful that he was so incredibly observant when it came to what was going on inside her. He could always tell when she was nervous or when she needed to be alone.

"Not just yet, Harry. There is something I need to tell both of you before you go scurrying off," she replied, shifting in her seat. She took another bite of her sandwich.

Ginny finished with her bite before saying, "Well, out with it. You're driving me crazy dangling this over my head!"

"Well alright. This is really hard for me to talk so please just bare with me," she replied after finishing another bite of her sandwich. She put the rest back down on her plate and rubbed her hands together nervously in her lap. "You both know how I have been looking into opening that bookshop in Hogsmeade? I asked George if I could borrow a book about being a business owner. He told me to go over to the shop because the book was in his office. Well, when I walked in the office, it wasn't exactly empty..." her words trailed off, eyes filling with tears.

Both Harry and Ginny got up and moved over to her on either side and held her while she silently sobbed. When she finally got up the courage again to continue, she said, "Ron was there. He was with Lavender. They were doing things I would rather have not seen. I just grabbed the book from by the door and walked out. I didn't know what else to do."

Ginny was so angry that her faced matched her hair. Harry wasn't much calmer either. Ginny all but screamed when Hermione finished her story. "That's it. I'm marching over there right now to give him a piece of my mind." She stood up from her place next to her friend and headed out of the room.

Hermione jumped up and ran after her. "Ginny wait! I have more to tell you. Not about your brother but about what happened after. Please stay so I can get this off my chest. Then we can figure out how to handle Ron."

Ginny seemed to calm down a little bit, but not much. At least her face didn't match her hair anymore. She followed Hermione back into the kitchen and they sat down in their original seat across the table from each other. Hermione looked over at Harry, noticing his sad expression. "Harry, you have been my best friend for ten years now. Thank you for listening to me and my boy problems. You don't have to stay for the rest of what I wanted to talk to Ginny about, you probably wouldn't want to hear it anyway."

Harry smiled as he got up from his seat to put his plate in the sink. "'Mione, you are one of the only people I would do anything for. I am really sorry about all this." He had walked back over to her while he was talking. He leaned down and kissed her forehead. He then did the same to Ginny. "I'm going to head into work now. I'll be home a little later. Love you both."

"Love you, more," they both replied, giggling at the fact that they spoke at the same time. Harry just smiled over his should at them as he headed out of the room to the floo. Hermione waited until she heard the flames die down before she started on the rest of her story.

"So I ran out of the shop. I was running through Diagon Alley, barely looking where I was going. I ran into someone..." she let her words trail off in suspense knowing Ginny would be all riled in agony just waiting for the other shoe to drop. She was right.

"You can NOT just least off like that! You have got to tell me who you ran into!" the younger woman practically screamed at her. Hermione just giggled.

"I ran into Draco Malfoy! I mean, literally ran INTO him! And he actually spoke to me like a normal human being!" Ginny had started to almost hyperventilate in excitement. She was gasping for air by the time Hermione started talking again. "Ginny, he actually acted like a concerned friend. He took me to the Leaky and bought me a cup of tea. And we talked about what happened. And I told him about finding a ring in Ron's pocket while I was doing laundry and that I felt pathetic for not seeing this coming before and preparing myself for it."

Ginny practically screeched with rage. "You what?! He has a ring? When were you going to tell me that? I am going to kill him, I will. I can't believe he did this to you, 'Mione. Wait, why are you doing his laundry?"

"It was a few weeks ago. I picked up a jumper he left at my flat and the ring was in a pocket. I just left the jumper with his other things so that he didn't know I saw it."

Ginny just shook her head. "'Mione, I won't do anything to him because he's my brother and that's not going to change, but you are my best friend and for this, I am on your side. I will be behind you one hundred percent through all of this. Have you thought on what to do?"

"Not yet. He knows I saw them but I waited a bit to go home and I blocked my floo right after I got there. I still haven't talked to him yet. I'm not sure what to even say. I was thinking about writing to him and saying that we were over and that I didn't want to see him right now. I don't know if I will ever be able to face him again," Hermione clenched her hands in her lap and worried her bottom lip like she always did when she was thinking.

"I think the letter and some space is a good idea. Let me get you some parchment. You can use our owl," Ginny said as she stood from her seat across the table from Hermione.

"You don't think he'd be upset that I told you? He'll know just for using Shadow," Hermione worried her lip again and Ginny huffed.

"To be honest, I don't care if he's mad that I know. What he did is wrong and even I won't forgive him easily. He has a lot of graveling to do." She flounced out of the room and came back a few minutes later with some parchment, a quill and ink, and Shadow, their black-banded owl.

Hermione took the supplies from her favorite ginger and began writing.

 _Ronald,_

 _The past few years have been amazing for me. I was so excited to find a ring in your jumper a few weeks ago and I hid it right back where it was hoping you wouldn't be waiting too much longer. I see now that, even though we have been together for a long time, you are not yet ready to settle down. I, on the other hand, am more than ready to start a family. I wish you well from the bottom of my heart and hope you are truly happy with Lavender. I can't say that we will still be friends because to say that I am hurt would not be enough. I need time and space. Goodbye._

 _Hermione Granger_

She rolled up her note and handed it to Ginny to tie to Shadow's leg and watched the owl fly out into the sky with the end of her relationship.

She then thought back about Malfoy and everything they had talked about and realized she needed to write to him too.

Standing up from her seat she moved over to where Ginny was standing by the kitchen window. Giving her a hug she said, "Thank you for being so understanding, Ginny. I honestly don't know where I'd be without you."

"Not so fast. You honestly don't think you're getting out of here without telling me about this incredible dream you had, do you?" Hermione's blush was so deep it matched her best friend's hair. "Ah ha! Nope, you sit your pretty little arse back down and spill!"

By the time she finished her story, Ginny's blush was as deep as her own and she had started fanning herself with a spare piece of parchment from the table. "Oh my," was all she managed to say.

"Ginevra Weasley. I cannot believe you are speechless," Hermione teased her friend.

"Well, how often do you have dreams about you and Draco Malfoy, of all people, hooking up like that?" She screeched so loud that she could probably be heard out in the street.

Hermione blushed even deeper. "It was only the one time. Last night. And it wasn't just hooking up, Gin. That's why I was so freaked out! He called me 'love' like we were together. Like there was actually something between us. And it felt so real!"

Ginny started fanning herself again. "No wonder you didn't want Harry to hear this part. He'd probably be angry about it being Draco."

"Probably," was all she managed to say before standing again to wrap her arms around her friend. "I need to get going. I didn't sleep much last night and I'm exhausted. Thank you so much for letting me come for lunch. It was delicious."

"Hermione, it was a tuna sandwich. You make way better food that I ever could." Ginny sighed, shaking her head at witch in front of her.

"That's because I still do some things the muggle way." They both laughed at this and started walking to the sitting room. Hermione grabbed a handful of floo powder and tossed it in the hearth. "Thank you again, Ginny. I'll see you later."

"No problem, 'Mione. Send my love to Persephone." Ginny hollered at her friend as she got whisked away in the flames.

Back at her flat, Hermione closed the floo again, just in case Ron tried to come through. She slipped out of her sandals and gathered her things for a shower. Afterwards, feeling more refreshed than she thought possible given the circumstances, she finally lay down in her bed and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 **Hey y'all. Sorry about taking so long to update. My muse was masked by 5 kids and work from home job for a while but it's finally back. It may not be the best but I'm still missing a beta so if you'd like to volunteer just message me! Hope you all like it! I can't wait to read your reviews!**

 **-Mia**


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